100 Triathlons
Go to the early blogs to read how I got into triathlons. Click on any picture to enlarge it. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." Theodore Roosevelt 1910

Monday, September 6, 2021

# 178 Riverfront International Triathlon in Cocoa

My 178th triathlon was yesterday and it was a special event for several reasons. This Thursday (9/9) will be the one year anniversary of my bike crash/broken collarbone and the culmination of my efforts to recapture my fitness. It has been a tough journey and I couldn't have done it without the support of my wife of 42 years, Sandy Finucan. 

While I have done four sprint-distance triathlons this year, I did the Riverfront Triathlon in Cocoa and chose the Olympic-distance (.5 mile swim; 26 mile bike; 6.2 mile run). I had not done any tris longer than a sprint due to COVID and storm-related cancellations since 2018. I got up at 3:00 AM to leave at 4:00 and arrive at 5:15 to be first in the packet pickup line. I racked my Moulton bicycle and discovered to my surprise that Mike Moulton was on the same rack. He was amazed to see a bike with his name on it. 

As the dawn rose, we headed over the the boat docks on the Banana River for the swim start. Because of COVID, instead of the normal in-water wave start (no beach there), we lined on on the long dock and jumped off the pier a few seconds apart. The swim took me 22:18 to complete and I headed out on the bike down the river road. When I first did this race in 2019, I expected the bike course to be flat but it was quite hilly as the road climbed and descended the bluffs along the river. At some points on the 26 miles you were down along the water and then had a high vista across the river. I was happy to have averaged 17.1 mph on the bike. Getting out on the 10k run course was fun as it headed south along the river with some shade and a light breeze. Since the sprint tri was on the same course, it was difficult to see who my competitors were among all the people. I was surprised to finish in first place in my age group with a total time of 3:00:50; my 2019 time was 2:56:26 (won that day too). I felt very good after the event and my new friend Mike Moulton finished second overall. On to the next triathlon! 

Also, Fox News Orlando was there and interviewed me but I didn't make the cut.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/major-triathlon-in-cocoa-ongoing-with-covid-19-protocols-in-place

Great shot during the race!


with Mike Moulton

Mike Moulton meets Moulton SST

Hammermobile in background

Sliver moon!






Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)